MBB Game Day Central: Campbell
1/7/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Game Day Central
Liberty Game Notes
Matchup Notes
- Campbell has not beaten Liberty on the Flames' home turf since the very first meeting on Jan. 5, 1976, when the Camels defeated Liberty, 85-78. At the time, Liberty played its home games at Jefferson Forest High School in Forest, Va. The Flames moved into the Schilling Center nearly four years later, hosting games in the facility for the next 11 years until the construction and completion of the Vines Center.
- Lovell Cabbil moved up six spots in the conference rankings with his career-high five-steal performance at Coastal Carolina. The freshman guard is now fourth in the league in thefts, averaging 1.7 per game. In addition, Cabbil is also second on the team in total points (174), assists (47) and blocks (6).
- Caleb Homesley has turned up the intensity in the Flames' last three contests, pacing Liberty in points (12.0 ppg) and rebounds (6.7 rpg) during the span. Homesley's string of solid performances includes a career-high 18 points at Notre Dame and a career-high 10 boards versus UNC Asheville.
- John Dawson displayed his sharpshooting ability against Coastal Carolina, hitting a trio of three-pointers in the final 3:05 to push the Flames to victory. After missing the first 11 games due to the NCAA transfer rule, Dawson is averaging 13.0 ppg in his first six contests, which includes a career-high 18 points versus the Chanticleers. The redshirt sophomore has posted double-digit scoring figures in five of six games.
- Evan Maxwell enters Saturday's contest ninth in the country in field goal percentage (.662). The 6-10 big man will look to bounce back after going 14-of-29 (.489) from the field in the last four contests.
Keeping it Close in Conference
Despite being 1-3 in conference play, the Flames have been competitive in Big South action. In its conference opener at Radford, Liberty rallied from being 10 points down to lead by one with 1:07 left. The Highlanders answered with five straight points to seal the 56-52 final. In two of their conference games, the Flames have erased large scoring deficits. Liberty trailed by 16 in the first half against Charleston Southern before coming back to lead by two with 1:58 left in the period. This past Saturday, the Flames nearly eradicated a 22-point deficit (14:18 left in the second), cutting it to five with 1:06 left.
Notes and Anecdotes
- Liberty snapped a 12-game skid and picked up its first Big South win of the season with its victory at Coastal Carolina, Wednesday night. Coincidentally, the Flames accomplished the same exact feat last season when they hosted Campbell, defeating the Fighting Camels, 73-60 (Feb. 10, 2015).
- Before taking over as the head coach at Campbell for the 2013-14 season, Kevin McGeehan spent the last eight years as an assistant coach at Richmond. During his tenure, McGeehan helped guide the Spiders to five postseason appearances, including a trip to the 2011 NCAA Sweet 16. While McGeehan was at Richmond, the Spiders hosted the Flames twice, defeating Liberty on both occasions (77-61 – Dec. 28, 2011, 84-42 – Nov. 9, 2012).
- During Ritchie McKay's first tenure with the Flames, Liberty squared off with Campbell on two occasions in the 2007-08 season. The Flames were edged inside Campbell's former arena (Carter Gym), 73-70, on Dec. 15, 2007. Liberty hosted Campbell just 13 days later (Dec. 13, 2007), picking up the 68-61 win over the Camels. At the time of the pair of matchups, Campbell was a member of the Atlantic Sun Conference. Campbell returned to the Big South for the 2011-12 season.
News and Notes vs. Coastal Carolina
- A clutch three-pointer by John Dawson with 13 ticks remaining propelled the Flames over Coastal Carolina inside the HTC Center, 62-61, Wednesday evening. The victory snapped a 12-game skid for the Liberty men's basketball team.
- Following the go-ahead trey, the Chanticleers got an attempt at a game-winning shot, but came up short. Due to the Flames' defensive pressure, Shivaughn Wiggins was forced to heave up a short jumper with three seconds remaining. Freshman guard Lovell Cabbil grabbed the rebound and hurled the ball down the court to seal the Flames' win.
- With the victory, Liberty moved to 4-13 overall and 1-3 in Big South action. The Flames' road win marks their first since the 2013-14 season, when Liberty defeated Campbell, 79-59, at Gore Arena on Feb. 22, 2014. Coastal Carolina is now 8-7 on the year and 2-3 in conference play. Liberty leads the all-time series over the Chanticleers, 29-26.
- Dawson paced the Flames with a career-high 18 points, followed by Anthony Fields (11) and Cabbil (11). Nine of Dawson's 18 points came in the final 3:05, hitting three trifectas. Cabbil also grabbed six rebounds and a career-high five steals in addition to his point total. Elijah Wilson paced the Chanticleers with 15 points.
- Coastal Carolina shot 46.9 percent (23-of-49) for the contest. The Flames finished with 45.3 percent shooting (24-of-53), including 51.9 percent (14-of-27) in the second period.
- Liberty knocked down 12 three-pointers on the night, tying its second-best mark of the season. The Flames also tied a season-best for fewest turnovers with seven, while converting the Chanticleers' 12 miscues into 13 points.
Last time vs. Campbell – Feb. 10, 2015
- The Liberty men's basketball team ended its 12-game skid in an emphatic way, defeating Campbell inside the Vines Center, 73-60. Trailing by eight early in the second half, the Flames used a 23-2 run to turn the tide and pick up their first Big South win this season.
- David Andoh paced the Flames with 16 points, followed by Theo Johnson who chipped in 15. Ryan Kemrite was a big contributor to the second half surge, finishing with four treys and a career-high 14 points for the second straight contest.
- Kyre' Hamer led the Camels with 16 points, while Reco McCarter had 13 tallies. Campbell's leading scorer D.J. Mason, who came into the contest averaging 12.6 ppg, was held to one point by the Flames' defense.
- Liberty finished with its second best shooting performance of the season, going 24-of-53 (55.8 percent) from the field. The Camels were held to 35.1 percent shooting (20-of-57), including 22.6 percent (7-of-31) in the second half.
- The Flames connected on timely three-pointers, going 8-of-12 (66.7 percent) from downtown. Campbell hit 11 treys on the night, nine of which came in the first half. The Camels followed up with 2-of-18 long-range shooting (11.1 percent) during the second period.
